Israel's ambassador to Sweden has condemned the weekly anti-Israel protests in Stockholm, claiming they feature "open acts of antisemitism."
"It's the same centuries-old stereotypes and blood libels, repackaged by replacing ' Jews' with 'Zionists," said Ambassador Ziv Nevo Kulman. "Authorities tolerate 'freedom of expression' being abused to promote hate and incitement against a national minority."
His words were prompted by a specific protest performance in Odenplan Square in Stockholm over the weekend. The graphic performance featured a man in a mask designed to look like a religious Jew drenched in blood, killing a Palestinian woman and then cutting a baby from her womb and slitting its neck. An IDF soldier with a sign saying FASC [fascist] aids in the process.
The Jewish figure bears some resemblance to the National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir.
Other protesters carried banners reading “Children are being killed in Gaza,” “Schools and hospitals are being bombed,” “Stop the attacks on Lebanon,” and “End food shortages.”
Slaughtering babies is a common motif in the weekly performance protests in Stockholm. The Jerusalem Post found multiple examples, each featuring similarly gratuitous blood-drenched Jewish figures slaughtering children and women in keffiyehs.
Other prominent motifs are nooses and mock hangings; in fact, mock executions are staged weekly.
Stockholm protests evoke blood libel
Commenters on social media have suggested that such performances evoke blood libel - the false, antisemitic accusation originating in the Middle Ages that alleges Jews murder non-Jewish children to use their blood for rituals.
Antisemitism denial is also prominent. One poster last week read "Palestinians' blood- Zionists are shedding - is Semitic blood. Who's the antisemite?" This is a common fallacy; the term "antisemitism" was coined in the 19th century specifically to mean prejudice or discrimination against Jews, not against all Semitic-language speaking peoples.
While defendants of such protests will claim it is targeting Israelis, and not Jews, a quick scan of the main protest organizers will show they make no such distinction.
Mahmoud Talat, a key figure in the weekly Stockholm performances, for example, frequently posts on Instagram, "the Jews stole our land."
Much of the pro-Palestine activity in Sweden is coordinated by the group Samidoun, which is closely linked to the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) and Hamas.
In February, NGO Monitor reported that Samidoun is expanding its operations in Sweden and organizing nationwide demonstrations that promote “armed resistance.”
Samidoun has chapters in Stockholm, Gothenburg, and Malmö that organize and participate in demonstrations and protests across Sweden.
“Swedish authorities should investigate Samidoun’s activities, affiliations, and operations in Sweden in light of its ties to EU-designated terrorist organizations, its promotion of 'armed resistance,' and its glorification of the October 7 massacre,” NGO Monitor said.
The Jerusalem Post reached out to the Swedish Security Service for comment.